Is the story of Ibrāhīm praying a thousand units at each corner authentic?
2026-10-14
T173 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Complete individual question and response within a collected question
One complete individual question and response from a collected question about reports circulated by storytellers and others. The quoted report in the question is presented for assessment, not endorsed. The answer gives Ibn Taymiyyah's own assessment.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
ومما يروون أن إبراهيم عليه السلام لما بني البيت صلى في كل ركن ألف ركعة، فأوحي الله تعالى إليه: يا إبراهيم، أفضل من هذا سد جوعة، أو ستر عورة.
الجواب
الحمد لله، هذا كذب ظاهر، ليس هو في شيء من كتب المسلمين.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Among the reports they circulate is that when Ibrāhīm, peace be upon him, built the House, he prayed a thousand units of prayer at each corner. Allah, exalted, then revealed to him: “O Ibrāhīm, better than this is to relieve someone's hunger or cover someone's nakedness.”
Answer
Praise be to Allah. This is an obvious falsehood. It is not in any of the Muslims' books.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 18/380
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic collated with the cited edition and a second transcription: https://quranislam.github.io/fatwa/ibn-taymiyyah/fatwa291.html. Each individual report and its full reply is preserved within the larger collected question. Diacritics omitted and honorific glyphs expanded. Titles and scope notes are editorial.